Life assurer Eagle Star indicated in private that it plans to cease its involvement in Assurelink, an industry-owned company that provides product information online to brokers.
The group said in correspondence with other Assurelink shareholders that it wished to dispose of its interest in the company, but left open the possibility that it might reverse that decision in light of a strategic review at Assurelink.
Eagle Star jointly owns Assurelink with Irish Life, Canada Life, New Ireland (Bank of Ireland), Standard Life, Friends First and Hibernian.
Amid some doubt about Assurelink's viability, the company's operations are currently the subject of a strategic review following the termination of its core service, with which it provided comparable price information to brokers on life products.
According to industry sources, it is open to question whether Assurelink can survive without such a quotation service. Such a service is dependent on the flow of information from member groups and the quality of the information provided varied.
When queried last week about suggestions that it was planning to surrender its shares in Assurelink, Eagle Star told The Irish Times that it could not pre-empt the review.
However, Eagle Star gave formal notice on June 28th in a letter to other shareholders that it wished to "cease involvement" with Assurelink "and to dispose of its shareholding in the company to the other shareholders therein".
Eagle Star pensions director Brendan Johnston said that there was no contradiction between the group's statement to The Irish Times last week and its correspondence with other shareholders. "What we told you last week was what we felt our position was."
He cited separate correspondence that Eagle Star issued on June 28th in which the group indicated that it might proceed with the disposal.
That letter said: "To the extent that this [ review] process is still ongoing, Eagle Star are willing to reconsider our decision to dispose of our existing shareholding (subject to the agreement of the existing shareholders) if agreement can be reached between the shareholders on the future direction of Assurelink before the end of 2006."
Assurelink was established in 1993 to support the broker market for life and pension products. Up to 400 brokers are known to use its services.
